Story/Summary
Below is a summary of the Johnisdead story. For a more detailed version of the story, please select the "Full Story" tab above. Jadusable's Haunted Cartridge ARG In 2010, a college student named Alex was given a haunted "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" cartridge by a strange old man. The spirit within the game calls itself "BEN" - the name of a child who drowned eight years ago in 2002. Alex uploads recordings of these hauntings to a YouTube channel named "Jadusable", unknowing allowing BEN to escape through the internet. Shortly after this, Alex goes missing and a website called "Youshouldnthavedonethat.net" is discovered. This website belonged to the Moon Children, a cult that worshipped the Moon Goddess Luna. One of the site's moderators, Matt, revealed that Ben was a former member who underwent a failed Ascension. "Ascension" is a ritual practiced by the cult that involves the participant being sacrificed to transcend their mortal body. Strange entities begin appearing on the site - Kelbris, a former Moon Child who was electrocuted in 1998, and The Father, the supposed leader of the cult. (The Father also went by the names "Drowned" and "Mr. D") Several other Moon Children are active on the site. Kevin, (Known online as Insidiae, Latin for "traitor") shares moderator duties with Matt. Spencer is another moderator on the site. He claims that lately he has been hearing Luna speaking to him directly. A timer was discovered on the site that would reach zero after three days. On the night of the third day, Alex suddenly returned and played the Song of Time from Majora's Mask. Just like its effect in the game, the events of the past three days reset and began playing out once again, but Matt was now missing. Players soon discovered that they too have "Ocarina Powers" just like Alex (the ability to submit songs and items from the "Legend of Zelda" series). Unfortunately, the players were unable to save the remaining Moon Children. It is believed this would have involved "The Truth" - a password protected page on Youshouldnthavedonethat.net. The only person to be given the login information for this page was "Kayd Hendricks", who went by Ryukaki online. Before Kayd was able to reveal password for The Truth, he was hunted down and killed. Several months later, "Within Hubris" was created - a message board that had seemed to contain the ascended souls of former Moon Children. Arc 1. - Doug and Mason Arc In the year 2015, an unknown user named "thelaw" shared a strange website he discovered with Within Hubris - "YSHDT.com". This site contained imagery relating to BEN and linked to a blog belonging to a high school student named Doug who had just recently joined a cult. Players attempted to persuade Doug to leave the cult but they were unsuccessful. In an attempt to learn more about the cult, one player named Jacob asked how he could join. He was referred to Mason, one of Doug's friends who handled new recruits. Things became more difficult when it was discovered that the year is 2009''' from Doug and Mason's perspective. This meant players were speaking to them from six years in future. Doug was suddenly kidnapped by the cult and disappeared. His friend Mason began speaking to the players through his blog. Meanwhile, a new character named '''Patrem appeared on the Within Hubris forums - the presumed leader of the cult. However, Patrem seemed to be lacking a physical body of his own and required a host. His current host is a cultist named Vincent, and whenever he fell asleep, Patrem would take over. Patrem didn't reveal much, claiming only that he was currently preparing for something very important that involved Doug. Also joining the forums was Helper - a friendly spirit who assisted the players by delivering packages through space and time. His powers were amplified by his "mask" which was simply referred to as "Helper's Hat" (The Postman's Hat from Majora's Mask). However, after a series of unfortunate events, Helper's Hat was lost and ended up in the hands of a mysterious character simply known as "The Gray Man". The Gray Man took on Helper's role, chiding the players with tough love when infighting occurred. During this time, strange videos were uploaded to a YouTube channel named "M'''". These videos were recordings of someone journeying through woods and visiting power lines, though the true nature of this channel is unknown. Mason attempted to find Doug by sneaking into the cult's base of operations - an old '''fishery in the woods. Mason finds Doug, but he's "different" - ascended, inhuman, and fully devoted to the cult. Mason is captured by the cult and trapped in a sewage drain with an unknown device sitting next to it. Though he was presumed to be dead, Mason miraculously reappeared within the players' Skype group. Though he spoke strangely and machine-like, he claims he lived through his predicament. He began asking the players for some strange bomb plans they discovered on YSHDT.com. Unfortunately, an error on the players' part led to contact being severed with both Doug and Mason. Arc 2. - Dead Arc A rogue hacker named "SKM" began taunting Patrem on the Within Hubris forums. He explained that three people who were previously disguised as players - John, Jacob, and Tyler - were actually canon characters. Jacob had apparently been missing since 2009, while John died in 2011. He invited the players to Johnisdead.com, a website owned by the cult. SKM began discussing the history of the Moon Children. Years ago, a schism occurred within the cult. This resulted in the creation of a separate cult known as the Lunar Children - the cult Doug had joined. In 2011 on the Lunar Children's holy day "Undecim Nocte" (November 11th - 11/11), an important Lunar Child named Regiminis was scheduled to be ascended at the fishery. However, things didn't go as planned. Somehow, John accidentally became Regiminis's conduit (spiritual vessel) and Patrem became trapped within Vincent. BEN was also present during all of this. It's revealed that BEN's true name is actually Tenebris, and he is an ancient evil entity of unknown origin. Tenebris's conduit Ben broke free and fled the scene (Remember, BEN and Ben are different - Tenebris was merely using Ben's spirit as a vessel/conduit and decided to use his name while doing so). Tenebris now needed a new conduit, so he stole John away from Regiminis. Meanwhile, Ben, now going by the name Drowned, teamed up with SKM. SKM had already been investigating the Lunar Children back in 2011, believing them to be responsible for the disappearance of his younger brother Max. As SKM and Drowned's journeys together were archived on the YouTube channel Lostmemory423. The Lunar Children were now targeting Tyler, hoping to sacrifice him in some sort of ritual that would take place on Undecim Nocte 2015 (November 11th, 2015). The players began contacting him on his YouTube channel Silentdork where he had several recordings of his old friends uploaded. These videos featured John, Jacob, and a new character named Kevin. It is possible that this Kevin is the same Kevin known as Insidiae from the Moon Children considering he was never confirmed dead. The players attempt to explain the situation to Tyler, but this only alienates him. He labels them "trolls", believing they created "Johnisdead.com" themselves as a cruel joke. Not long after this, Tyler was attacked by Doug and kidnapped by the Lunar Children. To make matters worse, the players realized their Ocarina powers have been stolen by Tenebris and given to the Lunar Children. The players receive videos of a user named "Matt" using the Ocarina to hinder their progress. This implies that Matt left the Moon Children and joined the Lunar Children at some point during or after 2010. As Undecim Nocte 2015 drawing near, Drowned attempted to help the players regain their powers by breaking into the Lunarchildren.com - the official Lunar Children website. During this, the players learn that Drowned is not what he seems. He is not just Ben, but a ghostly amalgamation of both Ben and Max's spirits fused together. Arc 3. - Lunar Children Arc The players successfully break into Lunarchildren.com where they find a message board. Here they meet an elderly Lunar Child named Jeremy who shares some valuable information about the cult. Jeremy was originally a member of the Moon Children but later on joined the Lunar Children when it was formed around 2003. Jeremy's also the brother of the "Old Man" who gave Alex the haunted cartridge in 2010. He says the Moon Children often covered up the truth with lies, explaining that Kelbris didn't actually die in 1998. As a part of Matt's original initiation into Moon Children, he was ordered to kill Kelbris back in 2002. However, this unintentionally resulted in Kelbris's ascension. Jeremy also explains that the leader of the Moon Children was indeed Mr. D (though he also went by "The Father" at times), whose name was the result of "the one I have consumed". This means that the leader of the Moon Children (Mr. D / Mr. Drowned) was actually Tenebris (BEN) all along. Unfortunately, the players' conversation with Jeremy is cut short, as everyone comes to the startling revelation that Jeremy was actually already dead - killed by his son Hunter as ordered by the cult. The players manage to barely save Tyler with their recovered Ocarina powers. Shortly after this, Tyler takes a trip to Australia to meet up with his girlfriend Carla. In a surprising turn of events, it's revealed that Carla is actually a former Lunar Child herself. In recent years, Carla had become paranoid and psychotic. She trapped Tyler in her home when he arrived in an attempt to keep him out of harm's way. Her efforts were in vain, though, as Regiminis managed to manifest in her home and attack them. Tyler reappeared in his home and Drowned began speaking to us. Drowned told players that Regiminis had captured him and was about to give him to Tenebris. Regiminis and Tenebris had made a deal - If Regiminis can capture Drowned and return him to Tenebris, Tenebris will return John to Regiminis. This would mean that both Regiminis and Tenebris would now have their original conduits (John and Ben respectively), and would presumably become more powerful. In his final moments, Drowned begins giving the players as much information as he can. He explains that Regiminis is actually Tyler's former friend Kevin, who was secretly a member of the Lunar Children all along. He also shares a few videos of what happened to SKM shortly after Undecim Nocte 2011. After Drowned led SKM to the fishery, he came across the Lunar Children. Pretending to be a new recruit, SKM was ordered by the cult to go to the Moon Children's old meeting grounds, the Orchard, and recover the Libro Lunarus - a holy book that belongs to the Lunar Children. SKM carried out this task and gained the cult's trust. However, things started to become strange shortly after this. Drowned recalls SKM receiving a gas mask from the cult as a part of his initiation, but for some unknown reason, Drowned also has a video of SKM receiving both the gas mask and the Libro Lunarus which he had already given back to the Lunar Children. The reason for this discrepancy is unknown. Unfortunately, the players cannot save Drowned and he is given back to Tenebris. Shortly after this, a video titled "Regiminis" is uploaded to Silentdork. Here we see Regiminis (Kevin) confirm that he has regained John as his conduit after giving Drowned to Tenebris. We are also told about the Four Giants - Four individuals who have undergone a special form of ascension known as Transcendence that allows them to keep their physical forms. The Four Giants are revealed to be Doug, Alex, Spencer, and Hank. The Four Giants are supposedly necessary to complete the ritual to summon Luna. Announcements on the Lunar Children site indicate that Matt has been missing since Undecim Nocte 2015 and that the Lunar Children are going to attempt to capture Tyler once more on April 23rd, 2016. However, the cult is unable to retrieve Tyler and they fail once again. After this second failure, some unknown cataclysm takes place at the Spire that results in nearly all of the Lunar Children completely disappearing. It seems as though they were punished by Luna herself for one too many failures. Around this time, the players ask Helper to send Tyler a camera so he can recover some pictures and document what is happening around him. Helper agrees to do so. In the video "5646", we see Tyler opening a briefcase containing a camera, but he is swiftly attacked by a corrupted John. An update on Lunar Children reveals a photo of Patrem and Ben. It's revealed that Patrem and Kelbris are actually one in the same, and he is Ben's biological father. At some point, Kelbris left the Moon Children and formed the Lunar Children. In 2002, Matt joined the Moon Children and killed him, causing him to ascend into Patrem. At some point after this, Matt joined the Lunar Children. A few months after this photo was found, Tenebris played the Song of Time and brought this arc to a close. Arc 4. - The Truth Arc The players discover that Youshouldnthavedonethat.net is once again online and active. Everything appears as it was six years prior in 2010. Matt is once again posting updates and is preparing for some sort of religious party in three days. The players are tasked with going through various cycles of the same three days in an attempt to uncover the truth of what exactly transpired in 2010. Over time they make some startling discoveries. Firstly, players discover that in 2010, Kevin was a secret Lunar Child spying on the Moon Children alongside someone named "Seth". Secondly, it's revealed that Kelbris's true name is actually Hank Hubbard. This means that Kelbris is one of the four giants. Finally, and most shockingly, Kelbris is revealed to have been Matt's adoptive father. Going by what was revealed in the previous arc, this means Matt killed his step-father to join the Moon Children. Jeremy also makes a return. He is now in a limbo after experiencing some form of ascension. He gives the players valuable information to assist their investigations, but at some point requires a ritual known as the "Circle of Three" to speak to them. The Circle of Three involves three chosen players coming together to speak with Jeremy. Jeremy explains that while the exact nature of Youshouldnthavedonethat.net's temporal status is unknown, one thing is for certain - Regiminis is the one holding it together. Regiminis is forcing the site and the souls trapped within it to repeat the three day cycle over and over again in an attempt to reach whatever is hidden inside The Truth - the locked page on the site the players were never able to enter. Time on the site only gets more confusing once more and more alternate timelines begin intersecting on the site. In one of these timelines, a version of Tyler going by the name "SilentDT" had joined the Moon Children. Apparently Tenebris was currently targeting this Tyler, hoping to use his body as a physical vessel of sorts. This came with the revelation that Alex and Kayd were also members of the Moon Children. As a part of Alex's initiation, he was sent to the Lunar Children fishery where he stole a copy of their holy book - the Libro Lunarus. This explains why SKM was sent there one year later in 2011 to recover it. However, after coming in contact with the book, Alex became crazed and psychotic. Things worsened on the day of Matt's party. Kelbris rose from his grave and hunted Matt down. Kelbris placed a mask upon Matt, placing him under Tenebris's will. At the party, Matt kills and ascends Alex and later does the same to Spencer, transcending them into the second and third giants. It's believed that this is what caused the Moon Children to disappear. New Year's Eve approached along with the end of the final cycle. During this time, hundreds of versions of Kayd were found trapped within the website. After nearly seven years, he was finally able to give the players the login information for The Truth, where they were given the choice to "kill" Mr. D. They voted "Yes" and the website slowly began shutting down. Before it all ended, Kelbris appeared before the players and expressed his many regrets. He admitted that the death of his wife Diana in 1990 (She died while giving birth to Ben) eventually drove him insane. He neglected his adopted son Matt and sacrificed his biological son Ben in a desperate attempt to bring back his dead wife. He apologizes one final time before disappearing. Arc 5. - Greth Arc Tyler begins uploading videos once again after waking up from a coma. He now has an odd bullet necklace of unknown origin and his memory seems to be getting worse. Stranger still is the mysterious Detour Sign that has appeared outside his home. Whenever he touches the sign, it teleports him somewhere else. Tyler begins investigating the Lunar Children on his own and meets a man named José. José is also investigating the Lunar Children for some friends and has recovered their servers from the fishery. One of the players who was in the Circle of Three, Greth, begins uploading videos onto a channel named Greth Vlogs. It soon becomes clear that these videos are canon after a few strange occurrences. A man wearing a silver alien mask begins appearing in Greth Vlogs who the fans dub 'The Watcher'. Greth is also followed by someone who appears to be one of the Four Giants. Greth consistently says he cannot get any sleep and feels he is going crazy. Believing this to be because of his new home, he goes on a hiking trip. It's here he stumbles across Tyler who suddenly teleported in front of him thanks to the Detour Sign. Tyler and Greth begin discussing their findings regarding the cult. Tyler reveals he has met up with José and vaguely knows him. Greth returns home and still has sleeping troubles. Players manage to put him to sleep using their Ocarina powers. This reveals that Patrem has been dwelling within him all along and he now appears to have full control over Greth. Arc 6. - Astral Arc A new site is discovered through Johnisdead.com - Astralobservatory.net. The Astral Observatory is a place for conspiracy theorists to come together and discuss paranormal and spiritual activities. The site owner, Nocta, welcomes the players, but warns the others to keep a close eye on them. Astral Observatory is found to have a locked board titled "The Truth", hinting at some connection to the Lunar Children. Many new characters appear in the form of forum members - Yuukichan, Moonman, and Samuel Charleston. Tyler begins streaming on his YouTube channel. He says he has lost his bullet necklace but found a gas mask, a red mask with the letter 'R' written on it, and a photograph of Hank and Diana. Halfway through the video, SKM sneaks into Tyler's room and steals the gas mask, claiming it was originally his. He then returns Tyler's lost bullet necklace, stating that he has "added something to it", and asks Tyler to look over his brother Max. Nocta's name is eventually revealed to be "Kevin Hendricks", implying that he is somehow related to both Regiminis and Kayd. Players begin speaking with Moonman over Discord. He reveals that he is actually Greth from an alternate timeline and that Nocta is also Kevin from an alternate timeline. Moonman says there is a hidden portion of Astral Observatory called the Subspace where the cult discussions take place and that the forums are merely a recruitment tool for the group's true purpose. Around this time, Nocta discovers that Moonman has been speaking with the players and outs him as a traitor. On April 23rd, 2019, we are shown videos of what appears to be someone summoning Tenebris using the haunted Majora's Mask cartridge. Moonman later reveals he has hacked into Nocta's account. He uses this opportunity to make all of the players moderators on the site. Players then discover that the character Yuukichan has been dead for months, having been ascended by the cult. Arc 7. - Our Horizon Arc A strange video titled "| | | | | |" is uploaded to Silentdork. An unknown entity begins speaking through the account, claiming that Tyler is currently in the Parallelos (The various voids between planes of reality) ''and that "they" just want it all to end. An alternate timeline version of the player '''Circlehunter' joins the Astral Observatory going by the name IsocelesAssassin. A new ghostly entity named GHOSTBABEL also appears within the players' Discord server, acting as IsocelesAssassin's assistant. Through various conversations over Discord, it's revealed that in this alternate timeline dubbed the "Astral Timeline", the majority of the players have been killed thanks to the actions of a traitor. The only survivors were Moonman, IsocelesAssassin, and a character named Yugi. Moonman also reveals that Nocta was actually a player in his timeline who joined them shortly after the events of The Truth Arc. He claims that after the rest of the players were killed, he discovered Nocta had created the Astral Observatory. The remaining players seemingly joined the Astral Observatory in secret to get to the bottom of things, but they've been unable to prevent any more deaths so far. At some point, Johnisdead.com becomes locked. IsocelesAssassin and GHOSTBABEL guide the players, telling them that currently their main objective is to break into the Subspace. Through a series of errors, the players accidentally submit the Elegy of Emptiness twice, which had apparently allowed an entity to manifest. In addition to this, Moonman is captured at one point. The players manage to save him, but doing so required playing the Song of Time and having GHOSTBABEL reset the Astral Observatory website. Moonman claims this had allowed yet another entity to manifest. Back on Discord, an account used by Tyler changes its name to "|||||". ||||| appears to be multiple entities within one account. Because of this, the conversations held with ||||| are often cryptic and confusing. Not long after this, strange entities begin speaking to the players as a part of an unknown organization - BUP, who apparently has the ability to cause the deaths of various characters, The Producer, who works for BUP, and TheLaw, who used to have a position similar to BUP's. The Producer reveals that their "boss" is actually |||||, though their exact motives are still unknown. On Undecim Nocte 2019, players finally see exactly what happened to Tyler. Back in April, he was attacked by the Patrem possessed Greth and forced to use the Detour Sign to escape. This teleported him into a strange forest-like environment believed to be the Parallelos.